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“The last 21 years have been filled with pain, confusion, frustration, shame and self-harm that are a direct result of Nick Carter raping me," Ruth said through tears at the press conference, with her lawyer beside her.
"Even though I’m autistic and live with cerebral palsy, I believe that nothing has affected me more or had a more lasting impact on my life than what Nick Carter did and said to me," the 39-year-old continued.
“After he raped me, I remember him calling me a r**arded b*tch and grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arm."
Ruth continued to say the boy band member tried to "scare" and "silence" her by saying no one would believe her.
She says Carter also told her he would turn people against her and that she would go to jail if she told anyone about what happened.
Ruth says she believed Carter, and that led to self-harm and self-doubt as well as major trust issues.
"I’ve struggled with blaming myself because I got on the bus with Nick," she said.
"Carter took away my childhood and innocence but he cannot and will not take away my strength or my truth. I am a survivor and always will be.”
Ruth’s attorney Mark Boskovich also spoke at the press conference on Thursday.
He stated there are three other women who are named in the lawsuit alongside Ruth. They are not being named at this time, but the lawyer noted that they have a similar storyline.
“Nick Carter has a long history of abusing women,” Boskovich said at the podium.
In the lawsuit filed on Thursday and as reported by People, Carter allegedly gave Ruth a drink on the tour bus in 2001 that he called "VIP juice."
The documents reportedly say that Carter told Ruth the beverage was cranberry juice, but Ruth believes there was also alcohol in it.
The outlet also says Carter took Ruth into a bathroom and "demanded she performed oral sex on him." The pop star then allegedly continued to "sexually assault her on a bed." At the press conference, Ruth's attorney said Ruth was a virgin before the incident and that she contracted HPV (Human Papillomavirus) from Carter.
Ruth is asking for monetary damages, both punitive and to cover medical expenses, as stated by her lawyer at the press conference.
Boskovich also called for other victims to come forward and stand with Ruth.
In an email to Narcity, Carter's publicist shared a statement from the singer's attorney, Michael Holtz, on the latest allegations.
“This claim about an incident that supposedly took place more than 20 years ago is not only legally meritless but also entirely untrue," Holtz said.
"Unfortunately, for several years now, Ms. Ruth has been manipulated into making false allegations about Nick – and those allegations have changed repeatedly and materially over time."
"No one should be fooled by a press stunt orchestrated by an opportunistic lawyer – there is nothing to this claim whatsoever, which we have no doubt the courts will quickly realize," Holtz added.
This isn't the first time Carter has been accused of rape.
The Backstreet Boys member was previously accused of rape by former teen pop singer Melissa Schuman. In 2017, Schuman said she was 18 years old at the time of the incident, as per a People report.
Carter denied Schuman's allegations and said that what happened between the two of them was "consensual." He was never charged.
These new claims against Carter come weeks after the singer's younger brother Aaron Carter died on November 5.
"Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here," Nick said last month following his brother's death.
